Aesthetic Medicine Today
Editors Editorial: Despite the fact that public awareness regarding benefits of early
breast cancer detection has risen resulting in the decreased morbidity and mortality,
the State of California Department of Public Health has applied the 2009 Breast
Cancer Guidelines released last month by the USPSTP.  This expedient policy decision
with commencement within 30 days leaves little time for public debate or for advocacy
groups to mount public campaigns to stop this ill-conceived economic driven decision
that will affect thousands of women and their families.  What are your thoughts on
this decision?  Will this decision validate the USPSTP Guidelines?  Will these guidelines
once validated and endorsed by this State agency become the precedent for your
PPO or HMO to begin denying your mammogram until you are 50? Voice your
comments on Twitter.
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California Dept of Public Health to Cut Mammograms
to Women Under 50

STATEMENT REGARDING EVERY WOMAN COUNTS PROGRAM FROM DR. MARK HORTON
Date: 12/2/2009
Number: 09-115
Contact: Al Lundeen - (916) 440-7259
SACRAMENTO

Dr. Mark Horton, director of the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), issued
the following statement today that effective January 1, 2010, CDPH’s Cancer
Detection Section, Every Woman Counts program will suspend all
new enrollments for breast cancer screening services until
July 2, 2010, and change the eligibility age for breast cancer
screening services to 50 years of age and over. (editors emphasis)

“The Every Woman Counts program is facing unprecedented fiscal challenges as a
result of increasing demand for breast cancer screening services and declining state
tobacco tax revenues, the primary source of funding for the program. Even though
the state has redirected resources to provide short-term funding increases for the
program over the past few years, these increases have not been enough to keep
pace with the growing demand for and cost of providing breast cancer screening
services to women in the program.

“The changes we are making are necessary to ensure that the program is
administered in a fiscally responsible manner. The Every Woman Counts program is
an integral part of the low-income health safety net. By making fiscally responsible
programmatic changes we are working to ensure this program continues to be
available to as many low-income women in California as possible.”